One of the main missions of the Ministry of Culture is to protect French heritage. It is therefore unacceptable that the Ministry regularly refuses to protect historic monuments belonging to the State, especially when it decides to sell them. It’s easy to understand why, even if this attitude is absolutely disgraceful: protection, inscription and above all classification, imposes constraints, and can therefore lower the value of a building, especially if it is coveted by a developer who wants to radically transform it.
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- 1. Maison Marrou (inscribed facade)
Photo: Giogo (CC BY-SA 3.0) - See the image in its page
We’ve already had occasion to observe this, for example, in the case of the Conservatoire d’Art Dramatique (see articles) which, under pressure, ended up being inscribed as a historic monument, but which has still not been classified as promised by three successive Ministers of Culture, or for the Château de Grignon (see articles), also only inscribed, which came under the Ministry of Agriculture and for which the Ministry of Culture was opposed to classification (see article). Fortunately, the French government - again under pressure - has now decided not to sell it.
Once again, the same thing is happening in Rouen, albeit even more seriously, because while the façade of the building in question is listed, the interior is not protected, despite being of obvious historical interest.
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- 2. Maison Marrou, entrance hall
Nothing here is protected as a historic monument (except the entrance door)
Photo: Website for the sale of the monument - See the image in its page
This is the Maison Marrou (ill. 1) at 29 rue Verte in Rouen, opposite the station. Built in 1890, it belonged to the ironmonger of the same name, Ferdinand Marrou, and was a "showcase of his skills, combining sculpted wood and forged or embossed metal". We’re not the ones saying this, but the Ministry of Culture itself, via the DRAC Normandie, which, for which we’re grateful, provided a very full response to our questions.
After having been occupied since 1945 by an insurance company that had made it its offices, it was acquired by the State in 1982, seven years after the façade was partially inscribed, to house the Inventory department, which remained there after it was decentralised to the Regional level in 2007, free of charge. The department then left the Maison Marrou for the Abbaye aux Dames in Caen, following the merger of the Basse Normandie and Haute Normandie regions in 2007, and the monument was returned to the State by decree on 24 October 2022.
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- 3. Maison Marrou, entrance hall
Nothing here is protected as a historic monument
Photo: Website for the sale of the monument - See the image in its page
The State now wishes to sell the monument via an online auction, handled by the Domaines department and the regional public finance department. This sale is clearly one of the negative consequences of the merger of the Regions: whereas before 2007 there needed to be two Inventory departments in Normandy, with two headquarters, now there is only one.
It’s not necessarily a scandal that a once-private house is being sold to the private sector. The scandal is that the State is selling it without giving it the protection it deserves, which will eventually allow the new owners, provided they have no concern for heritage, to do exactly what they want inside the building. It should also be noted that while the building was "in excellent condition" when it was purchased by the State in 1982, this is no longer the case today: despite various restoration works, its condition is described in the sale advert as "average", with the precision that "several joineries are waterlogged and show mould, fungus and deformations".
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- 4. Maison Marrou
Nothing here is protected as a historic monument (except for the outer part of the bay window).
Photo: Monument sales website - See the image in its page
In its response, the DRAC claims to be "concerned about protecting the building". How can they say such a thing when there is no protection for the interior of the building?
Earlier we spoke of "obvious historical interest" (ill. 2 à 6). Here again, it’s not us talking, but the DRAC. It explains that: "the rear facades and roofs, the courtyard and the gate enclosing the plot, the ground floor rooms and the staircase still bear witness to the original layout of the house. Their decorations bear witness to the high quality of Ferdinand Marrou’s work, as do the protected elements. In addition, a number of period wall lights and chandeliers have been preserved to blend in with the interior decor".
She added: "in order to ensure that these elements of heritage interest are preserved as much as possible, it is requested that future purchasers contact the heritage services of the DRAC as part of the studies for the re-use of the monument. At the very least, in the event of any works being carried out, the DRAC must be kept informed of the fate of the interior fittings, including woodwork, fireplaces, sculpted ceilings and wrought iron chandeliers".
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- 5. Maison Marrou
Nothing here is protected as a historic monument (except for the outer part of the bay window).
Photo: Monument sales website - See the image in its page
This is nothing more than window-dressing: without protection as a historic monument, the DRAC will in no way be able to oppose the buyer’s plans if he wishes to remove, sell or substantially modify the interior fittings "of heritage interest". Only a classification (which would include an in situ classification of the movable elements), or at least an inscription, would enable the DRAC, if it so wished (which in these conditions is not even certain), to prevent such vandalism.
By refusing to protect the monument before it is sold, the DRAC is in effect giving the buyer permission to do exactly as he wishes with the monument, except on the inscribed façade and on "the rear façades and roofs, the courtyard and the fence gate", which are subject to the assent of the architect of the Bâtiments de France because "in the vicinity of and contiguous to the inscribed building".
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- 6. Maison Marrou
Nothing here is protected as a historic monument (except for the outer part of the bay window).
Photo: Monument sales website - See the image in its page
The hypocrisy of the Ministry of Culture is total. It claims to be monitoring a monument without at any time giving itself the means to do so. The Maison Marrou should be fully inscribed, or better still, be classified as a historic monument.